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Wednesday, 9 February 2011

Newcastle in talks with free agents to solve striker crisis

Newcastle United have reportedly opened talks with former Middlesbrough striker Jeremie Aliadiere and former Palmeiras forward Ewerthon, both of whom are free-agents.

Newcastle are currently in the middle of a striker crisis after Andy Carroll was sold to Liverpool for £35 million, whilst Shola Ameobi is out with a broken cheekbone, and Peter Lovenkrands has been joined on the injury list by Leon Best.

The Metro are reporting that Newcastle have encouraged requests from free-agents as the Magpies look to bolster their squad, at least until the summer.

Aliadiere is apparently one of those players, who, since being released by Newcastle's rivals Middlesbrough in the summer, has been training with various clubs back home in France in an attempt to keep his fitness.

The former Arsenal striker's agent is in talks with Newcastle regarding a six-month contract, with the view to another year, should he impress.

Ewerthon, a seven-time capped Brazilian international was released by Brazilian club Palmeiras in January after scoring seven goals in 21 appearances.

After a mediocre spell back in Brazil, Ewerthon is looking to play in Europe once again where he has had decent success with Borussia Dortmund and Real Zaragoza, scoring 95 league goals in 230 league appearances.

His agent, Barry McIntosh said: "A number of clubs like Ewerthon, he is a free agent and is looking to seal his next move.

"It is no secret a number of Premier League clubs are keen on him.

"While I am not going to go into details about who we are talking with, if you're asking me about whether he would move to Newcastle then yes, obviously they are a calibre of club he would very much consider playing for."

Although he has not commented on these particular players, Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has not ruled out signing a free-agent or two.